Do you own an Xbox One X? Do you believe in its power to bring 4K gaming on consoles to the masses? Maybe, maybe not but if NPD Group data (cited by Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg) is anything to go by, the Xbox One X is doing pretty well in the United States. The obvious question now is whether it will help push the initiative for 4K or not.

GamingBolt posed this question to Crytek’s CryEngine product manager Collin Bishop, asking whether the Xbox One X will expedite 4K support especially since it launched just recently (compared to the PS4 Pro which has been out for more than a year now).

“Competition is always favored inside of any market. Considering the focus and push from Microsoft, it can only be assumed that their competitors will follow suit. The titles each console promotes are also quite similar in terms of performance requirements and the graphical fidelity. In the end the customers will drive the tech through the sales.”

As far as raw hardware prowess goes, Crytek also feels the Xbox One X to be a “worthy hardware upgrade” over the Xbox One. “The Xbox One X is certainly a worthy hardware upgrade. Its built-in 4k support allows us to achieve even more breathtaking visuals. Those that do not have a 4k display available to them still benefit from supersampling and the additional CPU/RAM power allowing to process more objects in the world.”

With 4K TV prices falling, the Xbox One X presents a fairly interesting deal at $499. Of course now it’s up to Microsoft to produce the games to match it, something which the PS4 has had an advantage with for a while now. What are your thoughts on the same? Let us know below.

Console exclusives are one of the major reasons to own
any particular console over another. With that said, what does the PS4 bring to
the table in 2018?

I
should probably start this off by saying that of course not all of these games
are 100% confirmed for a 2018 release. Most of them are, and yet more have been
teased or even outright said they will release in the calendar year while
not begin given a firm date. However, as is common in the video game industry,
titles are likely to slip past their initial release dates and potentially fall
into the 2019 timeframe. These, however, are likely to release and are ones you
should consider putting onto your playlist.

Something
I should probably note is that just as the title says, these are console exclusives.
Not necessarily platform exclusive. Which means one or more of these titles may
release on PC or even mobile in the extreme case, but not for one of the other
2 systems. It will also include timed exclusives if those games have yet to be
confirmed for a different platform.

We’ve
already broken down the exclusive games lineup for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in
2018. Now, we turn to PS4, which is currently the leading force in the
industry, with sales already topping 73.6 million units, and according to Sony had
it’s best Black Friday in
PlayStation history and selling almost 6 million units in
the holidays alone. 2017 has been a stellar year for big and small games alike
on the console, and 2018 is looking to keep up that momentum. If you’re worried
Sony might start to back off in favor of the oft-rumored PlayStation 5, you’d
be wrong. So what can you look forward to?

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars is an HD remake of the high-octane, big robot, super-fast action that defined a genre. This is a second revival that expands upon the PS3/360 enhancements with a completely new VR mode, expanded sound, and further improved graphics.

Yakuza Kiwami 2

While this game doesn’t have a concrete U.S. announcement it’s safe to assume this one will get released this year. When you look at the first and how it released in the states after the Japanese launch. Especially after Yakuza 0. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with this one. Kazuma should be on your consoles soon enough.

Yakuza 6

This is the sixth mainline entry in the blockbuster Yakuza franchise, which continues the story of Kazuma as it tells a hard-boiled tale of gang life in downtown Tokyo.

Without Memory

Without Memory is an interactive thriller, which main concept is based on the idea of three parallel worlds and your actions in one of them affect events in the two others. The story springs from the dystopian world, and its main character, the policeman Leo Evans, epitomizes consumer society.

WiLD

WiLD is a survival adventure game that takes place in a Celtic landscape set 10,000 years ago. This one ist tough to add to the list because it’s gone silent for so long. However, Dreams was announced around the same time and that getting a recent re-reveal it’s bound to get more information soon. Assuming it isn’t canceled.

Way of Redemption

A game designed for players with a passion for eSports and for those who want to test their skills, their game has arrived.

Vane

Vane is a single-player game being developed by a few ex-members of The Last Guardian team. The game focuses on unraveling the mysteries of an unknown land via exploration, puzzle-solving, and other features yet to be revealed, in an atmospheric and powerful setting.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2

Follow the Hundred Knight in its journey through a witch-ravaged world. Young girls are contracting a strange illness and awakening as witches, causing mayhem across the region of Kevala.

The Last of Us: Part II

Sequel to perhaps one of the greatest achievements in game storytelling, not much needs to be said. Taking place a few years after the first game, seeming to be about Ellie and her hatred for the Firefly. Not much is known, but judging by the most recent trailer, Naughty Dog has managed to push the envelope forward on game graphics.

The Inpatient

The Inpatient is a horror game with psychological elements that places you in the role of a patient with amnesia in the Blackwood Sanatorium, over 60 years prior to the events of the frightening events of Until Dawn. You can look forward to playing this horror VR prequel on January 23rd.

The Hong Kong Massacre

The Hong Kong Massacre is a vicious top-down game set in Hong Kong filled with guns, bullets, slow-motion and blood. It looks a lot like Hard Boiled (the movie) or its video game sequel Stranglehold, except in a top-down view. It has my attention that’s for sure. It’s one of the prettiest top-down games I’ve ever seen as well.

The Forest

The Forest is another first-person early access game that’s awaiting its PS4 release. You and a young child are the only survivors of a plane crash on a heavily forested island filled with hostile indigenous people that just aren’t normal.

Spider-Man

Sony, Insomniac, and Marvel have teamed up to bring a brand-new and authentic Spider-Man adventure exclusively to PS4. This isn’t the Spider-Man you’ve met or ever seen before. This all-new story stars an experienced Peter Parker who’s experienced at fighting big crime in New York City who has sheer mastery of his powerful abilities.

Shadow of the Colossus

Experience the wonder and magic of one of the most beloved video games of all time, recreated from the ground up for PlayStation 4 to provide gamers a stunning reintroduction to this masterpiece.

Shenmue III

This long-awaited third entry in the Shenmue saga continues Ryo Hazuki’s epic adventure. While it was originally supposed to release in early 2018, it has since been delayed to the second half of the year.

Savant: Ascent

A malicious orb has cast Savant out of his tower and transformed his surroundings into dangerous enemies! Dodge and shoot your way back up the tower, and blast down waves of enemies as you make your way towards the top! As you progress, you unlock CDs that give you new tracks to play to that also grant powerful new abilities!

Remothered: Tormented Fathers

Remothered: Tormented Fathers is a psychological survival horror game with strong cinematic inspiration and extreme gameplay. The story is full of unpredictable plot-twists but is touching at the same time. Psychology plays a huge role within the game: heroes and enemies are atypical and the line between good and evil is blurred.

Project Phoenix

Project Phoenix is an RPG with a squad-based realtime-strategy game design, brought to you by veteran developers for an adventure inspired by both Japanese and western game design philosophies. Throughout the adventure, players will piece together the mysteries of an angel with amnesia and travel through the land of Azuregard.

Patapon 2 Remastered

The beloved second entry in the Patapon series is marching its way to PS4 in resolutions up to 4K! Separated from their Zigaton compatriots, the Patapon tribe arrives on a strange new island, fighting through mysterious new enemies and creatures as they search for Earthend!

MLB The Show 18

Home runs, steals, and epic catches — get deep into the action and experience your favorite parts of baseball with MLB The Show 18. With the most exciting and personal baseball gaming experience on console, The Show 18 delivers condensed, but authentic games in classic and current stadiums that may feel so real, you can smell the grass.

H-Hour: World’s Elite

H-Hour is the story of an unfolded tactical, team-based military shooter in which cooperation between players is necessary for progress. A run-and-gun lone wolf mindset would very quickly result in a difficult outcome; only by cooperating with the team will you reach your goal.

Gray Dawn

Gray Dawn is a first-person horror game with adventure elements, exploring both real and unreal universes.

God of War

Kratos, the God of War, the man who really shouldn’t be liked because of all the hate and destruction he stands for yet we love him anyways. Only this time, returning with a softer tone, a new kid, and a beard! In this new game, every aspect of the game is being changed. This is easily one of PS4’s biggest games of the year.

Ghost of Tsushima

This new game from Sucker Punch took us by surprise. Set during the Mongol invasion on the Tsushima island of Japan in 1274. The main protagonist is a born Samurai who must abandon his training and discipline to have a fighting chance against the Mongols. Featuring a living open-world where your actions have consequences.

Futuregrind

FutureGrind is a game all about skill, tricks, and speed. The game is played on a track made of rails that run through a 3D environment.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Everyone knows what this is, so what can be said? The game features the same characters and story while being expanded upon for modern times. It will feature an entirely new combat system. The game will be broken up into 3 full installments and has been confirmed to not be a PS4 platform exclusive. But no word yet about platforms.

Erica

Erica is a unique take on interactive media. A live-action video adventure that is a PlayLink exclusive, featuring a branching narrative where every choice can have a profound effect on your game.

Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain

This is sort of a new direction for the EDF franchise. Taking on a more serious and dark tone, although keeping what makes the franchise great intact. The first thing you will notice is the vastly improved graphics, while not necessary, are nice to see. Again, as with EDF5, no US release has been confirmed but it’s likely to be announced before too long.

Drifter

Drifter is an open-world sandbox space trading game with a procedurally-generated galaxy 100,000 light years across made up of tens of thousands of star systems to explore. Care for another epic space adventure?

Detroit: Become Human

This is the next game from famed developer Quantic Dream, known for Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy. They are yet again pushing the envelope with graphics in games, and player choice. Following Kara, an android who has human-like sentience, which is abnormal for the machines, there just may be a robot uprising. Will you be part of it?

Deaths Gambit

Deaths Gambit is another side-scrolling action game with an old-school aesthetic to it. In it, you will explore an alien medieval planet filled with beasts, knights, and horrors as an agent of Death, bound to his service.

Death Stranding

A new series created by the famed Hideo Kojima. Do we know much about it? Not really, it’s a Kojima game, so everything you think you know about it is likely wrong. He loves deception in his trailers, and likes to lead you along a path just to reveal what you thought you knew was actually way off. The game features Norman Reedus.

Days Gone

Days Gone is a huge new title from the makers of Syphon Filter. This is their first console game in over a decade and looks to take inspiration from the likes of another PlayStation exclusive, The Last of Us. Set in a post-apocalyptic open world that sees the protagonist Deacon trying to survive from hoards of “freakers”, or zombie-like enemies.

Boundless

Boundless is an MMO voxel based game similar to that of Minecraft. It has been in early access since 2014, and was originally announced for PS4 a year later. When it’s released it will have cross-play between PC and PS4.

Ashen Rift

Ashen Rift has had a troubled start coming to life, failing a Kickstarter campaign or two. It finally got funded and is now on it’s way to PS4. It follows a bearded man and his dog off to save the world from a destructive portal. It is a first-person survival game that sees you constantly seeing your death in a vision.

This page includes tips and tricks to help you beat Anubis in Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Trials of the Gods.

A new quest will appear in your journal that will prompt you to investigate a glitch in the Animus. This will take you to your first trial where you’ll be facing the jackal-headed god of death, Anubis.

This trial takes place in the Great Sand Sea of Egypt which is located south of Siwa and west of the Black Desert. You can reach its location by fast traveling to a nearby point in Siwa and riding your chosen mount the rest of the way.

When you reach the site, walk into the beam of light to initiate the trial.

ANUBIS TRIAL PREP:

To avoid one hit kills, get to or as close to level 40 as you can before attempting the trial.

For the most part, this is a ranged battle so come prepared with heavy hitting bows such as a Legendary Warrior Bow and Light Bow.

Weapons traits such as Health on Hit, Critical Hit Damage, and Precision will be incredibly useful.

You will also have to engage in melee battle at some point, so a quick and powerful melee weapon such as a Sword or Sickle Sword is recommended.

Keep in mind that these are just a suggestions. Each player’s skills and weapon preference is different.

ANUBIS BATTLE TIPs

When the trial begins, it’s important to stay mobile and use your bow to hit the glowing sphere in the middle of Anubis’ chest. To keep your stash of arrows full, make sure to refill your ammo by picking up the mounds of glistening sand that drop throughout the battle.

The first wave of attacks will start with pairs of flaming hyenas that track your movement across the trial area. You can avoid them as long as you continue to run in the opposite direction of their highlighted path, dodging them if they get too close.

Try taking down the flaming hyenas with one shot from your bow if you are having difficulty avoiding their attacks.

Anubis will alternate between the flaming hyenas and a blinding sand attack that can also be avoided by keeping an eye out for the attack’s trajectory that is conveniently shown on the ground.

Once his health has been depleted by approximately one fifth, he will send out 5 minions that you will have to take out while trying to avoid any flaming circles and jagged walls of bones that he spawns during this time. You can break out the walls of bones by smashing through them.

Use chain attacks to eliminate the minions quickly.

The next wave will include flaming hyenas and sand attacks yet again, but this time the intervals in which they happen will become shorter. Pairs of flaming hyenas will now spawn back to back and sand storms will increase in frequency. Remember, keep moving and stay out of the highlighted attack range.

Anubis will summon the minions again but this time, you will have to avoid the wall of bones and flaming hyenas as you battle them. Once the minions are eliminated, prepare for Anubis to throw all of his attacks your way.

When the walls of bones spawn, take care to break through them quickly because sand attacks will shortly follow. Flaming hyenas will come from alternating directions so using your dodge ability will be useful. Anubis will also send out a pack of normal sized hyenas for taste. This will continue until you finally defeat the Egyptian god.

There's a big reason why the PlayStation 4 is the best-selling
console: It has a smattering of games that you can't play anywhere else. Think:
blockbusters like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Bloodborne.
But even if Indiana Jones simulators and massive open worlds where
you hunt down robo-dinosaurs aren't your thing, there are still plenty of
exclusives to pick from. Whether it's the best baseball video game franchise, a
choose-your-own-adventure horror or an engrossing social simulator/JRPG hybrid,
there's a lot to play on Sony's latest console. And then there are games from
massive third-party publishers like Activision and Ubisoft, along with quirky
indie offerings to round out the selection.

AAA vs Indie Darlings

It was with the PlayStation 3 that Sony started making a
name for itself as the home for thoughtful, quirky, sometimes weird indie
games. This directive naturally carried over to the console's successor. In the
PS4's early years, a steady stream of free (with a PlayStation Plus
subscription) indies like Resogun and Outlast helped
keep the system afloat while everyone waited for sequels to Uncharted or
the forever-in-development The Last Guardian. While Sony isn't
courting indie studios quite as aggressively as it once did, the PS4 is
still a great way to play niche games you might've missed these past few years.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

With Uncharted 4, developer Naughty Dog
took everything it learned about character development and narrative delivery
from its previous game, The Last of Us, and applied it to
treasure hunter Nathan Drake's potentially final tale. Four adventures in, the
crew's past exploits have strained or bolstered their relationships. Nate isn't
quite such a wisecrack anymore, and prefers dad jokes to one-liners. His wife,
Elena, would rather spend a night playing Crash Bandicoot on
the couch than fend off zombies on a Nazi U-boat hidden in the jungle. If this
is your first Uncharted, you might not pick up on some of the fan
service, but the constantly changing set pieces, puzzles and scenery should be
more than enough to pull you through to the epilogue.

Until Dawn

If you've ever found yourself screaming at the TV while
watching stupid teens do absurd things in horror movies, Until Dawn should
be the first "game" you play on PS4. Developer Supermassive Games'
take on "teenagers stranded in a remote cabin while something terrorizes
them" isn't a typical game, per se -- it's an interactive movie where you
guide a group of the oldest teenagers you've ever seen from one shiny object to
the next to advance the narrative. You'll make dialogue choices along the way,
press buttons in time with prompts onscreen and, if you aren't careful, kill a
handful of the teenagers by botching said button prompts in the heat of the
moment. But rather than becoming a schlocky genre trope-fest, it feels genuine
and earnest. Even better, it makes for a great pass-the-controller party game.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

After making nothing but Killzonefirst-person
shooters since 2004, developer Guerrilla Games knocked it out of the park with
its first open-world RPG Horizon: Zero Dawn. You play as outcast
and motherless Aloy as she searches for answers about her past and the world
she and her tribe inhabit. It's a world where robotic, quasi-headless
brachiosaurs lumber through primeval forests, and mechanical
raptor-and-saber-toothed-tiger stand-ins want to make you their lunch. Horizon's
ever-present sense of mystery and its massive open world will keep you busy for
a long time, even after you finish the story. And if the base game isn't
enough, Sony released an expansion not long ago that takes Aloy to new areas
and introduces new enemies.

Bloodborne

There's a good chance you'll throw a controller at the wall
while you're playing Bloodborne. But if you're a fan of the Dark
Souls series, that probably won't surprise you. Bloodborne has
the same developer (Fromsoftware), but, rather than a setting with dragons and
golems, here you're exploring a vaguely steampunk Londonesque town and fighting
off horrific beasts like werewolves, witches and infected boars. One or two
false moves in the course of battle with these beasts will do you in, and
there's a strong emphasis on learning their attack patterns. The result, when
you finally dispatch an enemy, be it your first or your 45th, is a sense of
accomplishment few other games can match. But yeah, prepare to die a lot along
the way.

The Last Guardian

For almost a decade, it seemed as if we'd never actually get
to play The Last Guardian. It was announced back in 2009, and then
director Fumito Ueda and his Team Ico spent years toiling away in the shadows
on this thoughtful adventure game. In 2016, we finally got to see and play the
beautiful, melancholy tale of a boy and his friendship with an overgrown
cat/griffin/bird creature named Trico. While the game bears the scars of its
protracted development time -- the camera and controls feel like relics of the
PlayStation 3 -- the result is a gorgeous experience that would feel out of
place on just about any other gaming platform. It's hardly perfect, but you
can't help but feel the love and hard work that went into the game at nearly
every turn.

The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt

Assuming you either already picked up this year's Horizon:
Zero Dawn or just want something that's steeped in fantasy rather than
sci-fi, CDProjekt Red's third Witchershould be right up your alley.
As in Horizon, there's a sprawling open world, except this one
is filled with monsters, magic, swordplay, bloody barons, political
machinations and side quests spread across several continents. Tying it all
together is Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher (read: monster hunter), who's
equally word weary and wry. Thanks to meticulous writing and design, those side
quests feel just as important as the critical path -- not just filler added to
stretch out the runtime. And if you want a subtle way to track how long you've
played, just look at Geralt's beard: It grows in real time along your journey.

Journey HD

Okay, so this is technically cheating, considering
that Journey made its debut on the PS3, but the game is too
special to not include its PS4 remaster on the list. And really, this is the
type of game that deserves to be in everyone's library. It's a quiet meditation
on life and loss, told entirely through gameplay and a wordless adventure
toward a mountaintop that's forever beckoning you to come closer. The game may
start out with you sliding down sand dunes in an endless desert, but, without
giving too much away, know that isn't all you'll see along your path toward the
peak. Its clever cooperative multiplayer mode still feels as fresh as it did
five years ago, too. If you're looking for a way to introduce a significant
other or family member to gaming, there's no better place to start than here.

The thing with the Xbox One X, and with the PS4 Pro as well, is that exclusives are not allowed. Basically, any game that hits the Xbox One X must also run on a base Xbox One and on an Xbox One S- at most you can make it run better, but you can’t have an Xbox One X only game.

And according to Kai Tuovinen of Frozenbyte (the folks behind Trine and Nine Parchments), that’s holding the console back from getting exclusives it could otherwise be getting. “I think there’s definitely developers out there who’d like to bring their game to consoles, but the only thing powerful enough apart from PC would be the Xbox One X,” Tuovinen said. “My guess is there’d be a lot more Xbox One X games if they’d allow exclusives,” he said to GamingBolt.

“It seems to be like a high end PC with a 10-series GTX card,” he said. It is certainly powerful enough to render AAA games in 4K natively- although it depends on the game, according to him. “I’d think so yes, depends on the game obviously and how well it has been optimized etc.”

On the whole, while Xbox One X’s equivalence in specs will not last for long (since PCs get more powerful and capable hardware releases far too rapidly), there is little denying that Microsoft could certainly gain some great exclusives for their ecosystem if they allowed developers to make Xbox One X exclusive games- maybe eventually, that will happen.